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As today is Rememberance Day I thought it would be a good opportunity to highlight this extremely interesting WW2 spec ops force.
They are all members of the 1st Special Service Force - an elite unit made up of American and Canadian soldiers who captured 27,000 enemy prisoners between 1942 and 1944.
The legendary special force was tasked with creating havoc behind enemy lines through sabotage and slaughter and laid the foundation for the U.S. navy SEALS and the modern day special forces in Canada.
The troop were so feared by the Nazis that they earned the nickname the 'Devil's Brigade' because of their painted faces and stealth tactics.
The Black Devils were formed in 1942 and the 1,800 strong force was primarily made up of volunteers who were previously lumberjacks, forest rangers, hunters and game wardens.
At their base in Fort Harrison near Helena, Montana in the United States, they received rigorous and intensive training in stealth tactics, hand-to-hand combat, the use of explosives for demolition, parachuting, amphibious warfare, rock-climbing, mountain warfare, and as ski troops.
They even had a specially designed fighting knife made for them called the V-42.
During the war they fought across Europe, in the Aleutian Islands, the Pacific and later in Italy and southern France before being disbanded in December 1944.
Devils Brigade on patrol: Staff-Sergeant K.S. Chapman, carrying a Thompson submachine gun; Sergeant T.C. Potenza, carrying a Johnson light machine gun; Sergeant N.J. Overall, carrying a Bazooka; Sergeant T.F. Olynyk, carrying an SCR-536 radio; Sergeant H.W. McCarthy, carrying a Thompson submachine gun (R-L) march during a battle drill at Anzio beachhead, Italy, in late April, 1944
Members of the First Special Service Force preparing a meal in Anzio, Italy, in April 1944, where they first earned the nickname the 'Devil's Brigade'
The first operation in 1942 was codenamed 'Project Plough,' and was described as a 'suicide mission.'
They had to parachute into German-held Norway to knock out strategic targets such as hydroelectric power plants.
But it was during Operation Shingle in Anzio, Italy, in 1944 that they earned the nickname the 'Black Devil's.
They were brought ashore to hold and raid the beachhead, which they did.
A journal of a German officer which was found by allies, read: 'The Black Devils are all around us every time we come into the line. We never hear them come.'
After each successful raid they left a card depicting their unit patch and the phrase 'Das dicke Ende kommt noch' or 'The worst is yet to come
In total they saw only 251 days of combat but the force suffered 2,314 deaths, captured 27,000 prisoners and won five U.S. campaign stars and eight Canadian battle honors.
Devil's Brigade commandos who wreaked havoc in WW2 to be honored by Congress | Daily Mail Online
- The elite commando unit was made up of American and Canadian soldiers
- Said to have laid the foundations for the modern day special forces
- Nicknamed 'Devil's Brigade' by Nazis due to their blacked-up faces
- Captured 27,000 enemy prisoners and saw 251 days of combat
- Surviving members set to receive Congressional Gold Medal (NOTE: They Received this in 2013.)
They are all members of the 1st Special Service Force - an elite unit made up of American and Canadian soldiers who captured 27,000 enemy prisoners between 1942 and 1944.
The legendary special force was tasked with creating havoc behind enemy lines through sabotage and slaughter and laid the foundation for the U.S. navy SEALS and the modern day special forces in Canada.
The troop were so feared by the Nazis that they earned the nickname the 'Devil's Brigade' because of their painted faces and stealth tactics.
The Black Devils were formed in 1942 and the 1,800 strong force was primarily made up of volunteers who were previously lumberjacks, forest rangers, hunters and game wardens.
At their base in Fort Harrison near Helena, Montana in the United States, they received rigorous and intensive training in stealth tactics, hand-to-hand combat, the use of explosives for demolition, parachuting, amphibious warfare, rock-climbing, mountain warfare, and as ski troops.
They even had a specially designed fighting knife made for them called the V-42.
During the war they fought across Europe, in the Aleutian Islands, the Pacific and later in Italy and southern France before being disbanded in December 1944.
Devils Brigade on patrol: Staff-Sergeant K.S. Chapman, carrying a Thompson submachine gun; Sergeant T.C. Potenza, carrying a Johnson light machine gun; Sergeant N.J. Overall, carrying a Bazooka; Sergeant T.F. Olynyk, carrying an SCR-536 radio; Sergeant H.W. McCarthy, carrying a Thompson submachine gun (R-L) march during a battle drill at Anzio beachhead, Italy, in late April, 1944
Members of the First Special Service Force preparing a meal in Anzio, Italy, in April 1944, where they first earned the nickname the 'Devil's Brigade'
The first operation in 1942 was codenamed 'Project Plough,' and was described as a 'suicide mission.'
They had to parachute into German-held Norway to knock out strategic targets such as hydroelectric power plants.
But it was during Operation Shingle in Anzio, Italy, in 1944 that they earned the nickname the 'Black Devil's.
They were brought ashore to hold and raid the beachhead, which they did.
A journal of a German officer which was found by allies, read: 'The Black Devils are all around us every time we come into the line. We never hear them come.'
After each successful raid they left a card depicting their unit patch and the phrase 'Das dicke Ende kommt noch' or 'The worst is yet to come
In total they saw only 251 days of combat but the force suffered 2,314 deaths, captured 27,000 prisoners and won five U.S. campaign stars and eight Canadian battle honors.
Devil's Brigade commandos who wreaked havoc in WW2 to be honored by Congress | Daily Mail Online
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